Her Present Duty
by Corelli Sonatas
Summary: Han and Leia discuss their future with the new knowledge that their family is due to grow. Fantasy on what could have happened after Episode VI.


He finally found her. Not relaxing in their heavenly apartment in Theed Palace; not ambling through the palace's breathtaking gardens; not even leaning in at her desk in their room, slaving over senate business. No, Han would not allow the last of those situations; he had strained his voice too much from demanding that she put her family before her senate work. "There are legions of senators," he had argued on countless occasions. "All of _them _will do their part now. They can wait for you - one of millions - while you spend time with your family."

King Han Solo - he was the King of Naboo, the highest in authority next to his wife, a position his former self would never have allowed - stared as his wife conversed with Theed's pilots in the underground terminal. _How many times does she have to instruct these skilled men and women not to fly their aircraft into asteroids? _he wondered in sarcasm. Han was irritated by the very same, horrid reason that had made him anxious to live somewhere on the outer rim - somewhere parsecs away from the Senate of the Republic. He thirsted a residence that could shunt away conferences, fiscal issues, and especially the constant nagging of various planets for the opportunity to have "General Solo and Princess Leia Organa" to honor their planet at post-war celebrations.

He loathed the sort of life that required constant attention to the public. Not a million shiny credits could attract the stubborn man to such a scene.

As Queen Leia Solo concluded her sentence directed toward the attentive Naboo fighter pilots, she sensed Han's very near presence. _Great. He's had it with me._ Whisking away the negativity of the circumstances, Leia proceeded with her speech: "There should not be too many to destroy. Each time one of you locate and finish off an isolated Imperial ship, report your progress to Captain Antilles. He has been kind enough to supervise our mission." In the corner of her eye, Leia saw her husband gradually move toward her and her crowd. "Very well, then," she uttered after a brief pause. Han was now behind them, waiting awkwardly. Leia wished that she could roll her eyes. "Captain Antilles, they're all yours."

Wedge Antilles smiled and nodded reverently to the Queen. "Thank you, Leia." He turned around, having thought that someone else had been viewing the brief conference. "Han," he greeted the King.

Solo attempted a genuine smile and managed, "Thank you for volunteering to command this mission, Wedge."

"There is no burden in fighting off the remnants of the Empire," he admitted simply.

Leia approached the two men and squeezed Han's hand. "Your vehicle is the third on the left, Captain Antilles. We wish you and your squadron the best."

Antilles pressed his lips together and nodded. As he jogged to his ship, Han pressed a light kiss to his wife's forehead. "I'd hoped to find you resting in our room when I got home."

Leia smirked, "That's an impossible hope, Han." She nudged him playfully. "That's as improbable as it is for you to wear Theed's royalty robes. You would never -"

"Hey," Han jostled, "I bet you're relieved that they don't make _you _wear _yours."_

Before he could expand his remark, Leia stubbornly walked ahead of him. Han was slightly offended. "Fine, I'll see you tonight - or tomorrow morning - whichever your Highness prefers." He had stopped himself from moving another inch, determined for Leia to avert her gaze toward him. The Royal Theed squadron fired up their engines and prepared for takeoff at the rightmost region of the terminal.

Leia sighed as she continued up the flight of stairs. She had heard Han, but she could not face him. Not now. _It's not the right moment, _she assumed.

Too quickly had she made up her mind; for, as she reached the top of the staircase, Han shouted her name. He was desperate to be with her. She had for too long associated with everyone's recovery projects after the war. _She endures more than she should handle, and I'm not liking it, _thought Han in a brief evaluation of his post-war problems. _If only she knew how I feel about it..._

...

That night there was a short interval of time for the Queen to ponder such thoughts. Of course Han did not want her to run around all day with spending only as much as a meal with him! But Leia had an imperative decision to make. _Will I be able to continue - in the Senate, in my post-war duties, as an ambassador for Naboo?_

She had escaped Han's tight leash one evening to utilize an appointment with the Theed Palace medic. The results of the appointment had shocked her - that is, she had reacted as any woman would have done in response to the news.

This evening, she wanted to tell him. Her shyness had put off the announcement for a week, but Leia knew that at some point he would have to know. The woman needed to decide whether she would continue as Senator of Naboo, as one of the most active and most quintessential of politicians. _I will have a newborn child soon! There is no way that I will want to continue with _all_ of this, _she mused rationally.

Yet her mind simultaneously thought otherwise. _You need to be involved; Mon Mothma depends upon you, and so do millions of others._

_But so does Han. _The woman's internal battle continued until Han Solo entered their apartment. Theed had been asleep for a standard hour; the view from the palace was that of darkness.

"Hey," came Han's salutation. He closed and locked the door ever so gently, then returned his eyes to her serene figure. "You didn't deserve that sarcasm I gave you. I'm sorry."

Leia gulped. How was the evening to begin: with apology and forgiveness? _Certainly this is better than a round of bickering and complaining, _decided she. Nevertheless, Leia was taken aback by Han's introductory statement. "I... I forgive you..."

Her words were sincere, but Han inferred by her lost countenance that Leia was not at ease inside. "I've been worried about you," he continued, setting down his jacket and his comlink. "I am afraid that you work yourself too hard. Not that you can't handle it, just that it..." Han, confused by the fact that Leia would not interrupt him to retort, stopped in his speech for a moment. The Queen saw it best to spill the news now, before she grew more anxious than she had already become.

"The med droids examined me...and they told me..." That was all Leia could tell him, trembling as she was. Han stepped closer to his wife and placed his calm hands on her shaking arms. Leia's frightened eyes made contact with his understanding ones. "I am sorry, I -"

"Leia," Han whispered. He disengaged himself from her body for a moment - one fleeting moment - to look at her. _Where have I been all this time? _thought he, amazed by how much older she appeared. Not by numerical age did she don an older figure; Han marveled at how mature she appeared, and not merely because she had endured a war. _She is a senator, _Han openly realized for the first time. _She is a Queen, a hero, a wife, a..._

"A mother."

She beamed at him. Leia inhaled abruptly, as if her lungs had been constrained. "Yes. But I am scared, Han." She left it at that. Han gestured toward the sofa, a homely place on which he planned to finish the conversation.

"You're scared _because_ you're going to be a mother?" he slowly asked, handling both the volume and the character of the words with care. Leia shook her head. She lifted her feet from the ground and brought her legs up onto the cushioned seat.

"I am frightened because I don't know what I am going to do with my life."

Han broke when he heard this. _She is always convinced that she must do everything in her power to ensure the safety and satisfaction of every planet, every creature._ What concerned him deeply was her sadness in the midst of what should have been an invaluable moment between them. "You are going to be with me and Luke and Chewie, and with Artoo and Threepio...and with the baby. That's your present duty. That is what you must do, above all else." He noticed that she offered no response to his risky declaration, whereupon he put a hand on her knee and pressed on: "If you think something's going to be too hard to continue - like your position in the Senate - then don't continue it."

"What happens when I quit one of these occupations, and so many are opposed to it? They will ask me why I have resigned, and how I have become selfish enough to abandon them." Leia cringed at the image of an infuriated body of people she had forever known, a group of people who had forever trusted her knowledge and her visions for the Republic. "I might lose the allegiance of so many who are loyal to us now. I don't know what to do."

She was on the verge of tears now, so Han - now that Leia had expressed her concerns - leaned in toward her and wrapped his arm around her. "I know that many value your time and your efforts... And you can still have a position in these crazy political schemes that I don't know a grain of sand about." He chuckled, and that - more than his previous statement - made her do likewise. "Well," Han reconsidered, "maybe I know a little. But that's only because of you. Honestly, Leia, I don't know what they will do without you."

"Then should I even leave -"

"However," interrupted her husband, grinning because he knew she had thought that she was about to win the conversation. "They _can _manage without you, because even though you do a hell-load of their work, you are not the only one out there who wants to rebuild the Republic." Han detracted his arm while she shifted positions. Then, with a serious countenance - one that the Queen would never have imagined her King could produce, especially because he was never that serious with her - Han threw out his opinion. "There will always be conflict after disasters, after wars, after everything. The good news," he explained gently, "is that will always have someone to resolve those conflicts: senators, chancellors, ambassadors, citizens... But we will not always have our family, and I mean you, me, Luke, and this one." Han gestured toward her abdomen.

This reality hit Leia in the face: she only had one family, and that family was nowhere near the size of the Senate Republic, nor the population of Theed, nor even the amount of lilies that danced in a vase on her vanity in the adjacent room. Overwhelmed by this truth that would not escape her, Leia understood how vital it was for her to treasure her family. "Oh, Han," she began, choking on his name before the tears sprung from her exhausted eyes. Between sobs she exclaimed, "I have been so thoughtless!... I can _count..._how many times I've seen you and Luke within the past two weeks: only ten. For most people...I'm sure it's triple that -"

"Shh," soothed Han, not liking where the lamentations were headed. "I don't dwell on the past, because it has already happened. But right now," he added, stroking her long hair, "We have a decision to make. Not just you, not just me. _Us."_

Upon hearing Han use this word, Leia wiped her tears and focused her eyesight upon him. She smiled and touched his cheek. "I love you," she confessed, "and I love our family. I know you do, too." Han responded accordingly - with an intimate kiss on her lips - and when they finished, he finally gave Leia the words that she had so ardently hoped to hear from his voice.

"I am so lucky. I couldn't be happier...about this child, about our future..." She stopped him with a finger lightly pressed against his lips.

"I will resign from everything, except the Senate. It still needs me, and I should stay updated with the political world... Is that all right?" she asked, unsure of what to make of the man's illegible face.

_Are you kidding? Dammit, it's perfect! _thought Han in an ecstasy that he seldom felt. It was an elation at the prospect of a child - his child - and a perfectly wonderful family of seven (he, being lightheaded with joy, had to include the Wookiee and the two droids in this category).

To his momentary happiness - but to his long-term disappointment - the following moments were a blur for Han Solo. He took his wife into his arms, lifted her from the sofa to the balcony, and watched with her as the glimmering moon unveiled itself from the dark clouds of the night.


End file.
